"Frederick Beesley, Tomas Boss, Robert Churchill, William Greener, Holland and Holland, James Purdey, James Woodward and Westley Richards, the great names of of British gunmaking, have all played a notable part in the development of fine over-and-under shotguns during the twentieth century. Geoffrey Boothroyd and his daughter, Susan Boothroyd, trace the histories of these and other celebrated British gunmakers". Geoffrey Boothroyd outlines his theory that the over-and-under descends from the German Bockflinte, combination small-game rifle and shotgun, developing an idea first put forward by Major Hugh Pollard in his book Shotguns of 1926.